The Pretty One by Keah Brown
Published by Simon and Schuster
Age Group: Adult
Format: Memoir
Genres and Categories: Black Authors, Disabled and Neurodivergent Authors, Chronic Illness, Mental Health, Disabled and Neurodivergent Information, Diversity
My Rating:
Published on: 6th August 2019
Pages: 256
Disability Representation: Anxiety, Cerebral Palsy, Depression, Migraines, Suicidal Ideation
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From the disability rights advocate and creator of the #DisabledAndCute viral campaign, a thoughtful, inspiring, and charming collection of essays exploring what it means to be black and disabled in a mostly able-bodied white America.

Keah Brown loves herself, but that hadn’t always been the case. Born with cerebral palsy, her greatest desire used to be normalcy and refuge from the steady stream of self-hate society strengthened inside her. But after years of introspection and reaching out to others in her community, she has reclaimed herself and changed her perspective.

In The Pretty One, Brown gives a contemporary and relatable voice to the disabled—so often portrayed as mute, weak, or isolated. With clear, fresh, and light-hearted prose, these essays explore everything from her relationship with her able-bodied identical twin (called “the pretty one” by friends) to navigating romance; her deep affinity for all things pop culture—and her disappointment with the media’s distorted view of disability; and her declaration of self-love with the viral hashtag #DisabledAndCute.

By “smashing stigmas, empowering her community, and celebrating herself” (Teen Vogue), Brown and The Pretty One aims to expand the conversation about disability and inspire self-love for people of all backgrounds.

Content Warnings:

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To call The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love With Me by Keah Brown just an autobiography or a memoir does not do it justice. This book is a collection of carefully curated essays on disability representation in pop culture and intersectionality. There’s also a good dose of self-help thrown in there as Brown puts her experiences to good use and speaks directly to her reader, telling them, towards the end of her book, to tell themselves they are special and stick it on a post-it-note on the mirror.

It’s not the voice of arrogance or overconfidence, and Brown is not preaching in any way. She has laid herself bare in this book and given a brutally honest account of what it is like not just to be the disabled sister but to be the disabled sister in a pair of identical twins. If you think that means she places all the blame squarely at the feet of her sister, think again. This is not that type of book. As an only child, my experiences are very different to Brown’s, and I appreciated this exceptionally personal look into a dynamic that I will never experience.

Brown’s life is very different from mine in a lot of ways. She’s a black woman living in America, she has cerebral palsy, and she’s a Christian. While reading The Pretty One, I was aware of our differences but also aware of what we had in common as two disabled women. Brown has a great natural voice that invites you in. Her humour and way of looking at things are refreshing. Here is a young woman who has struggled with depression and internal ableism and has now found herself, found her confidence, and she is happy. She taught me a lot about race and intersectionality, but also about myself.

Up until I read The Pretty One, I always referred to my body and me as two separate entities. With seven chronic health conditions, it always felt like my body was betraying me, that I was not in control at all. Reading about Brown’s own struggles with identity and the way she talked about it concerning ableism helped me come to terms with some internal ableism I hadn’t even realised was there.

I missed Brown’s viral hashtag #DisabledAndCute when it happened, and it was great to relive that experience from her perspective. She is also one of the first people to start talking about disability representation in pop culture, and it bothered me that until I specifically searched for that phrase, I had not heard about Keah Brown. It was a wake-up call to check my circle of influences, and to be more active in following and reading disabled people of colour. 

This is a book everyone needs to read. Whether it’s about disability, racism or internal ableism, everyone can learn something from reading The Pretty One by Keah Brown.

About Keah Brown

Keah Brown is a journalist, author, studying actress, and screenwriter.

She is the creator of #DisabledAndCute.

Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire UK, And The New York Times, among other publications. She is currently cowriting a musical and jumping into the film and tv space.

Her Debut essay collection, The Pretty One is out now.

Her debut picture book, Sam’s Super Seats will be out August 23, 2022 via Koklia books.

Keah loves TV and film, and she tweets, at @Keah_Maria, about cheesecake and how she should be writing. Keah has a B.A. in journalism from The State University of New York at Fredonia.

Website | Goodreads | Instagram

Thank you for reading my review for The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love With Me by Keah Brown!

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